Multipurpose vacuum pump
by the VACUUM guy
What?
Vacuum pumps are a quite expensive beast, plus a lot of care has to be taken to not break it due to gasses, acids and so on.
In this guide I’ll describe how to build your own, for a fraction of the costs, and has added benefits:
1 - A water pump. Don’t go cheap on amazon! Pay some more for good stuff!
Ensure it is 12v (or 24v). Go for higher pressure over higher throughput. Throughput of around 5 to 8 L/m is sufficient. But pressure should be at least around 5Bar/80psi. The amazon pumps break within the first week. Those more expensive pumps will last years! ( and i’ve pumped nearly everything (bromine, piranha solution, etc). The pumps also don’t break when dry.
.
2 – A plastic box, like curver or something.
Recommended to take higher model. Dimensions on average:
w: 30cm x d: 35cm x h: 40cm
3 – Hosing . Don’t go cheap either. I took a EPDM gasoline hose with inner size of 10mm. Around a meter or 4 leaves you some room for error.
4 – Water jet pump. Or ventauri pump. Should cost you not more than €50. Choose PTFE!
make sure it has an adapter with it, so you can replace the screw connector with a “hose connector
5 – Power supply. This can be (unlike point 1), perfectly bough with Amazon. Ensure you have the best Amperage, so 30V-10A instead of 60V-5A or 120V-3A
6 – Optional , but which is what i’ve done. Some rack
7 – Wiring and vacuum hosing (silicone for example) 10 mm. And hose clamps (the one with a wingnut are most convenient)
The rack from the side , with the motor underneath on the floor.
On the first tray comes the plastic curver box.
on the second tray comes the power supply unit.
The curver box can be easily emptied by just pulling the 2 hozes out of it and
pull it out. Then with fresh water you push it back in and let the hoses come back into the water.
- When a real low pressure is needed, you can put it on steroids by adding a load of icecubes to the water.
- You can add Sodium Bicarbonate to the water to work as a neutralizer
- You can use the vacuum line with some adapter to capture the output gas of your apparatus instead of a hose to outdoors.
DO NOT ALSO use this for cooling your condensers!
by the VACUUM guy
What?
Vacuum pumps are a quite expensive beast, plus a lot of care has to be taken to not break it due to gasses, acids and so on.
In this guide I’ll describe how to build your own, for a fraction of the costs, and has added benefits:
- performs very reasonable. could boil water in room temperature
- it is chemical resistant
- it is capable to pump out/over fluids (from your reaction mixture, or water from a hot/cold bath
- could be used as a gas scrubber.
- Reaches a low enough pressure to boil water at room temperature.
- Control the strength using a knob.
| Temp F | Temp. C | Microns | inHg | PSIA |
WATER BOIL | 212 | 100 | 759,968 | 0.00 | 14.696 |
DEVICE AVG | 76 | 24.44 | 22,860 | 29.02 | 0.442 |
DEVICE MAX | 59 | 15 | 12,700 | 29.42 | 0.245 |
Required materials
1 - A water pump. Don’t go cheap on amazon! Pay some more for good stuff!
Ensure it is 12v (or 24v). Go for higher pressure over higher throughput. Throughput of around 5 to 8 L/m is sufficient. But pressure should be at least around 5Bar/80psi. The amazon pumps break within the first week. Those more expensive pumps will last years! ( and i’ve pumped nearly everything (bromine, piranha solution, etc). The pumps also don’t break when dry.
.
2 – A plastic box, like curver or something.
Recommended to take higher model. Dimensions on average:
w: 30cm x d: 35cm x h: 40cm
3 – Hosing . Don’t go cheap either. I took a EPDM gasoline hose with inner size of 10mm. Around a meter or 4 leaves you some room for error.
4 – Water jet pump. Or ventauri pump. Should cost you not more than €50. Choose PTFE!
make sure it has an adapter with it, so you can replace the screw connector with a “hose connector
5 – Power supply. This can be (unlike point 1), perfectly bough with Amazon. Ensure you have the best Amperage, so 30V-10A instead of 60V-5A or 120V-3A
6 – Optional , but which is what i’ve done. Some rack
7 – Wiring and vacuum hosing (silicone for example) 10 mm. And hose clamps (the one with a wingnut are most convenient)
“Schematic” side view
The rack from the side , with the motor underneath on the floor.
On the first tray comes the plastic curver box.
on the second tray comes the power supply unit.
The curver box can be easily emptied by just pulling the 2 hozes out of it and
pull it out. Then with fresh water you push it back in and let the hoses come back into the water.
- When a real low pressure is needed, you can put it on steroids by adding a load of icecubes to the water.
- You can add Sodium Bicarbonate to the water to work as a neutralizer
- You can use the vacuum line with some adapter to capture the output gas of your apparatus instead of a hose to outdoors.
DO NOT ALSO use this for cooling your condensers!
